S6 2016/17 thoughts and advice please

[db]

Hi,
My trusty S4 is 19 years old needs to be replaced.
I'm interested in an S6, probably saloon, but I don't really know much about them.
What goes wrong with them, and how frequently does it go wrong? I'm thinking along the air suspension side, but no idea if there are other potential problems.

Is there anywhere I can find the list of options for cars this age?

TIA

[Dr G]

Message me and I'll bounce you back the period brochure.

Bloody good cars, properly fast and very understated.

Engine generally reliable (current recall for turbo oil feed), box strong if serviced and not abused (many people say it will take more power but manufacturer uses a different box for anything with more torque), A6 C7 generally a very good platform.

They're reasonably heavy on expensive, bespoke discs (S6/7/8 only).

Air suspension on them gives very few issues.

[MisanoPayments]

Be sure to look at examples with the better nav, which still wasn't standard even this late in the run (from what I see browsing Autotrader :-) ) - or you'll think you're back in your S4 again (unless of course yours has CD or tape!).

[db]

MisanoPayments said:

Be sure to look at examples with the better nav, which still wasn't standard even this late in the run (from what I see browsing Autotrader :-) ) - or you'll think you're back in your S4 again (unless of course yours has CD or tape!).

Nav on the S4 is pretty dire. The nav CD was updated about 8 years ago but even then, the updated disc was 4 or 5 years old

[FMOB]

If you ever get a thought in your head about buying a C8 version of the S6, do your self a huge favour and just don't.

I really wish I could go back in time and shoot myself to stop me buying one!

I will put up a mini review but what a pile of ste it is.

Edited by FMOB on Tuesday 18th April 21:41

[db]

FMOB said:

If you ever get a thought in your head about buying a C8 version of the S6, do your self a huge favour and just don't.

I really wish I could go back in time and shoot myself to stop me buying one!

I will put up a mini review but what a pile of ste it is.

Edited by FMOB on Tuesday 18th April 21:41

Sorry to hear that FMOB, I hope you found a resolution to your woes.
I'm not likely to be looking at C8s, but I'd be interested to hear your story

[Yertis]

None are as lovely as the C4 S6

(with cassette and CD auto changer in the back).

[Jobbo]

db said:

FMOB said:

If you ever get a thought in your head about buying a C8 version of the S6, do your self a huge favour and just don't.

I really wish I could go back in time and shoot myself to stop me buying one!

I will put up a mini review but what a pile of ste it is.

Edited by FMOB on Tuesday 18th April 21:41

Sorry to hear that FMOB, I hope you found a resolution to your woes.
I'm not likely to be looking at C8s, but I'd be interested to hear your story

I'm interested to hear the story too, having picked up a C8 model S6 Avant yesterday. Seems OK to me so far.

I can't say I'd be unhappy with a C7 model S6 though; I do too many miles to justify a V8 these days but having had two C7 Allroads, I am a bit of a fan of the C7 model.

[FMOB]

Well I previously owned a B7 S4 since 2008 but changed to a 2021 S6 Avant for better economy (not difficult), bit more space, etc so the S6 is a big jump forwards (or backwards)..

Anyway, the biggest issues are...

The gearbox, having driven older autoboxes this one is easily confused and very laggy with up to a 2 sec delay even in sport mode before it realises it needs to do something. The effect is like turbo lag which Audi cured with an electric compressor so plenty of irony here.

Tailgate, regularly closes on me for no reason, if you hear a quiet beeping sound get out of the way because the tailgate is coming down and nothing in the manual about this warning. Had a headache for a week after getting clouted by the tailgate coming down.

Driver aids - the lane departure, always on courtesy of NCAP, same with headlight operation as dipped lights on automatically, the default setting is auto. My neighbours get HD Matrix dip beam through the bedroom window at 6am because you cannot change this.

The dashboard, wow this looks stunning but does it creak, groan and rattle, dealer has already tried to cure it but failed but I am up a MAC Tools spudger and torx driver as a result.

The MMI, what an awful bit of software! Start the engine and the stereo is on, everytime it is started, I've had funnies with air con and demister as the mode swapped over so air con with demist on and demist on when button shows off. You might find when refueling it will ask you if you want to reset the mpg stats, on mine this demands a response as it will stay on screen until you acknowledge it. It is not cleared by turning engine off or driving a long distance, I gave up after several journeys over 3 days.

This car is an always connected car so Audi are collecting data on absolutely everything, I think that also includes location data, if you want to opt out it nags you everytime to opt out, the do not remind button is false hope as next time you start it guess what happens.

I bought mine from a dealer so got the online account and all that so when you shut it down it displays your name on the screen, why it is only a car!

The flat screens without any physical buttons mean you really do have to take your eyes of road as you can't fumble about to find a switch, this is progress for who?

That said I like the 40+ mpg blasting down a perfectly smooth motorway, having turned all the annoyances off and not having to interact with any of the electronics it is a nice place to be.

I am now quite prepared to swallow the dealer margin loss to get rid of it for a car that just works quietly and consistently but all modern cars are packed with st software and driver aids you can't turn off thanks to NCAP.

The S6 is basically a 50 or 55 in drag with a few fancy bits stuck on, it certainly is not worth the extra money over a 50 or 55 model. I expected something like a smoothed off RS6 but the reality is much much duller and very blunt.

Overall I regret buying it and getting rid of the S4, 20mpg doesn't feel quite so painful now.

[Jobbo]

I wonder if the boot closing on you is due to the button on the remote being pressed in your pocket? I discovered today that finally you’re allowed to close the boot lid from the remote; about time.

Your description sounds exactly why I like it, so I hope I don’t fall out of love with it in the same way. I bought mine due to lack of an Allroad BITDi in C8 shape so I didn’t want an RS-lite. And it’s priced as a 535d would be if it existed, so seemed good value to me against a 530d.

Edited by Jobbo on Thursday 20th April 09:53

[RammyMP]

FMOB said:

Well I previously owned a B7 S4 since 2008 but changed to a 2021 S6 Avant for better economy (not difficult), bit more space, etc so the S6 is a big jump forwards (or backwards)..

Anyway, the biggest issues are...

The gearbox, having driven older autoboxes this one is easily confused and very laggy with up to a 2 sec delay even in sport mode before it realises it needs to do something. The effect is like turbo lag which Audi cured with an electric compressor so plenty of irony here.

Tailgate, regularly closes on me for no reason, if you hear a quiet beeping sound get out of the way because the tailgate is coming down and nothing in the manual about this warning. Had a headache for a week after getting clouted by the tailgate coming down.

Driver aids - the lane departure, always on courtesy of NCAP, same with headlight operation as dipped lights on automatically, the default setting is auto. My neighbours get HD Matrix dip beam through the bedroom window at 6am because you cannot change this.

The dashboard, wow this looks stunning but does it creak, groan and rattle, dealer has already tried to cure it but failed but I am up a MAC Tools spudger and torx driver as a result.

The MMI, what an awful bit of software! Start the engine and the stereo is on, everytime it is started, I've had funnies with air con and demister as the mode swapped over so air con with demist on and demist on when button shows off. You might find when refueling it will ask you if you want to reset the mpg stats, on mine this demands a response as it will stay on screen until you acknowledge it. It is not cleared by turning engine off or driving a long distance, I gave up after several journeys over 3 days.

This car is an always connected car so Audi are collecting data on absolutely everything, I think that also includes location data, if you want to opt out it nags you everytime to opt out, the do not remind button is false hope as next time you start it guess what happens.

I bought mine from a dealer so got the online account and all that so when you shut it down it displays your name on the screen, why it is only a car!

The flat screens without any physical buttons mean you really do have to take your eyes of road as you can't fumble about to find a switch, this is progress for who?

That said I like the 40+ mpg blasting down a perfectly smooth motorway, having turned all the annoyances off and not having to interact with any of the electronics it is a nice place to be.

I am now quite prepared to swallow the dealer margin loss to get rid of it for a car that just works quietly and consistently but all modern cars are packed with st software and driver aids you can't turn off thanks to NCAP.

The S6 is basically a 50 or 55 in drag with a few fancy bits stuck on, it certainly is not worth the extra money over a 50 or 55 model. I expected something like a smoothed off RS6 but the reality is much much duller and very blunt.

Overall I regret buying it and getting rid of the S4, 20mpg doesn't feel quite so painful now.

I can sympathise with you, I had a 68 reg A6, it was awful, creaks, rattles, software issues, etc. There’s a thread on here about A6 faults. I swapped it for a 21 reg Q5, it’s so much better as it doesn’t have the lane departure and all that ste.

…and rotary knobs for the climate control!

[FMOB]

Jobbo said:

I wonder if the boot closing on you is due to the button on the remote being pressed in your pocket? I discovered today that finally you’re allowed to close the boot lid from the remote, finally.

Your description sounds exactly why I like it, so I hope I don’t fall out of love with it in the same way. I bought mine due to lack of an Allroad BITDi in C8 shape so I didn’t want an RS-lite. And it’s priced as a 535d would be if it existed, so seemed good value to me against a 530d.

I did think about the boot closing because a false trigger from the remote but the car should be detecting the key presence, not a great leap to make with boot open, key in proximity that closing the boot is a stupid thing to do.

I think part of my problem is I still think I should be in control of the car, I am slowly concluding that I am superfluous and the ownership experience is more akin to being owned by a cat i.e. what you want isn't very high on the priority list.

[Jobbo]

FMOB said:

I think part of my problem is I still think I should be in control of the car, I am slowly concluding that I am superfluous and the ownership experience is more akin to being owned by a cat i.e. what you want isn't very high on the priority list.

Does yours have the Tour Pack? I was rather surprised and impressed that the active cruise control changes for the speed limit changes, even the variable limits on the M6. I might not always want that but I have already accepted that partly autonomous driving is a good thing for a relaxing motorway journey.

[Dr G]

FMOB said:

The gearbox, having driven older autoboxes this one is easily confused and very laggy with up to a 2 sec delay even in sport mode before it realises it needs to do something. The effect is like turbo lag which Audi cured with an electric compressor so plenty of irony here.

Most new cars suffer an amount of this thanks to the emissions fairies, but there is a software update to improve yours:



Ask your dealer if it applies, and they'll probably need the car in workshop to physically check the installed software version.

[db]

I went for a test drive earlier, and I was underwhelmed with the car.
Simple, yet major, things like opening the door and seeing the seat frame and mechanism bolted to the floor.
Was it quick? Probably. But it didn't have the grunt my 19 year old V8 has, it really didn't feel quicker than my S4.
My car has 163k miles on it and I have to question if these cars will still be on the road in another 13 years with 163k miles on them.

The test drive car was pretty basic spec, which isn't necessarily bad, but I can't see past the only noticeable difference between my old S4 and this newer S6 is that the new one has rain sensing wipers and mine doesn't.

fk.

I need to find a mint 2004 S4 with 50k miles on the clock

[FMOB]

db said:

I need to find a mint 2004 S4 with 50k miles on the clock

Good luck with that one, I have been looking...

DrG, thank you for the info. From what I have been told there is a TPI (whatever that is) for the lag plus apparently a major MMI update is also available. As to the veracity of this, who knows.

My car is booked in with the dealer next month so there is a vague hope something might change but I will reserve judgement on whether it is an improvement or not.

I did learn that you can (allegedly) shut down the always on data connection to the Matrix (Audi data slurping customer tracking system), that produces another load of warnings on the screen.

I do think the changing of the virtual cockpit display is a wonder, never know if I will see a set of clocks or a bargraph when I start it.

[Jobbo]

It may be too early to be certain, but I’ve not had any similar issues (lag or electronics) with mine, which was bought new this week. So the software updates should be on it from the factory you’d think.

[KPB1973]

db said:

I went for a test drive earlier, and I was underwhelmed with the car.
Simple, yet major, things like opening the door and seeing the seat frame and mechanism bolted to the floor.
Was it quick? Probably. But it didn't have the grunt my 19 year old V8 has, it really didn't feel quicker than my S4.
My car has 163k miles on it and I have to question if these cars will still be on the road in another 13 years with 163k miles on them.

The test drive car was pretty basic spec, which isn't necessarily bad, but I can't see past the only noticeable difference between my old S4 and this newer S6 is that the new one has rain sensing wipers and mine doesn't.

fk.

I need to find a mint 2004 S4 with 50k miles on the clock

Very interesting appraisal. I've been tempted to look at one for a while but did wonder whether the reputed lack of noise/excitement might underwhelm.

Are there no other cars on your shortlist? Does it have to be an Audi and a V8? F10 M5 (with warranty) and M340i might be decent alternatives?

[db]

KPB1973 said:

Very interesting appraisal. I've been tempted to look at one for a while but did wonder whether the reputed lack of noise/excitement might underwhelm.

Are there no other cars on your shortlist? Does it have to be an Audi and a V8? F10 M5 (with warranty) and M340i might be decent alternatives?

No harm in going to look at one, it's a nice car. I'm sure it's a quick way of getting from A to B in comfort, but it just didn't feel as quick as it claims.

The S6 was my shortlist. I haven't got a clue what to look at now.
Doesn't need to be Audi or V8 but 4wd would be preferred (memories of an E28 535i in snow wasn't fun) big torque would be nice as I'm lazy and got used to shifting from 1st to 4th to 6th. 6th at 20mph and pulling was nice. I guess I should be more excited about autos than I am.
I did see a few Bentleys in the £20k range...
But no, that would be a silly thing to do

[FMOB]

I did own a 2004 B6 S4 for 6 months before getting the B7 S4, one obvious difference was the B7 was much quieter and refined compared to the B6.

I suspect the S6 you tested was just as quick as your S4 but was more refined so engine less intrusive, etc. I find the speedo is really the only way to gauge performance in cars that are quieter than current one. IIRC the 2016/2017 S6 is dual turbo so should be spritely for a 2 tonne car so could have a problem, I would try another one.

As for the trim issue, Audi have been downgrading the standard specs of everything and having a massive options list to bump up the profit margins so there are quite a lot of low spec cars out there, still less to go wrong but lots of options can be retrofitted.